Giron v.

COMELEC

G.R. No. 188179 [January 22, 2013]

FACTS:

Petitioner Henry Giron and petitioners-in-intervention assail the constitutionality of Section 12

(Substitution of Candidates) and Section 14 (Repealing Clause) of Republic Act No. (R.A.) 9006,
otherwise known as the Fair Election Act on the ground that these provisions would enable elective
officials to gain campaign advantage and allow them to disburse public funds from the time they file their
certificates of candidacy until after the elections.

Giron asserts that the insertion of Sections 12 and 14 in the Fair Election Act violates Section 26(1), Art.
VI of the 1987 Constitution, which specifically requires: Every bill passed by the Congress shall embrace
only one subject which shall be expressed in the title thereof. He avers that these provisions are unrelated
to the main subject of the Fair Election Act: the lifting of the political ad ban. Section 12 refers to the
treatment of the votes cast for substituted candidates after the official ballots have been printed, while
Section 14 pertains to the repeal of Section 67 (Candidates holding elective office) of Batas Pambansa
Blg. 881, otherwise known as the Omnibus Election Code. Section 67 of this law concerns the ipso facto
resignation of elective officials immediately after they file their respective certificates of candidacy for an
office other than that which they are currently holding in a permanent capacity.

ISSUE: Whether or not the inclusion of Sections 12 and 14 in the Fair Election Act violates Section
26(1), Article VI of the 1987 Constitution, or the "one subject-one title" rule

RULING:

No. It is a well-settled rule that courts are to adopt a liberal interpretation in favor of the
constitutionality of legislation, as Congress is deemed to have enacted a valid, sensible, and just law.
Because of this strong presumption, the one who asserts the invalidity of a law has to prove that there is a
clear, unmistakable, and unequivocal breach of the Constitution; otherwise, the petition must fail

The Court finds that the assailed Section 12 (Substitution of Candidates) and Section 14 (Repealing
Clause) are indeed germane to the subject expressed in the title of R.A. 9006: An Act to Enhance the
Holding of Free, Orderly, Honest, Peaceful and Credible Elections through Fair Election Practices. The
title was worded broadly enough to include the measures embodied in the assailed sections.
Consequently, the Petition and the petitions-in-intervention are dismissed for failure to establish a clear
breach of the Constitution.